UCLA Baseball 4th Best Producing MLB Talent
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Jun 13, 2009 10:53 AM PDT
in Baseball
9 comments
Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N
The UCLA baseball team has run into some hard times recently, not making the 2009 postseason, but they're still turning out Major League talent. Just this week, seven UCLA juniors and seniors were drafted, one year after five Bruins were drafted. Along these same lines, The Wall Street Journal took at look at the 1996-2008 MLB Drafts and ranked each school that had produced at least four MLB players in that time frame by runs above replacement.
California schools make up four of the top five -- USC, No. 2 Cal State Fullerton, No. 4 UCLA and No. 5 Pepperdine, with Miami in between. But more than anything, the analysis shows how difficult it is for even top colleges to produce top-flight major-league players. Mr. Pujols has single-handedly been more valuable statistically than the offensive alumni of every college during the past dozen years, save Miami and UCLA.
Currently, there are seven Bruins playing in the majors: Chase Utley, Troy Glaus, Casey Janssen, Garrett Atkins, Eric Byrnes, Ben Francisco and David Huff. Utley is leading NL second basemen in All-Star voting by a wide margin and looks poised to become the NL's starter at the position for the fourth consecutive season. Francisco, Byrnes, Atkins and Janssen are all healthy now and starting for their respectie clubs, while Huff, who was a Bruin as recently as 2006, earned his first two major league wins in his last two starts.
There's not shortage of talent in the Southern California region and the Bruins are getting their share of that talent. Hopefully in the coming years that talent can turn into yearly postseason appearances and wins in those postseasons. In the mean time, as we wait for the 2010 season to come around, we can keep tabs on our Bruins in the amateur summer leagues, the minor leagues and as the WSJ makes clear, the major leagues.
0 recs |
9 comments
Email
Print
Comments
Thanks rye
It was has always amazed me UCLA can have so alums in MLB despite not being an elite program.
by gilbert on Jun 13, 2009 1:38 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Underacheivers
Given the talent that has been recruited over the last several years the team has definitely under-acheived. How many programs have 8 players drafted, but don’t make the post-season? It is not an elite program. In fact, it has regressed over the past 3 years, as the coaching staff has been shuffled and reshuffled.
by scopes22 on Jun 13, 2009 8:07 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
No disagreement here
That’s why the 2010 season will be so telling. Savage had his years to learn about being a head coach, he recognized the faults in the program and got new coaches. Now, it’s time for the results. Next year will tell us a lot about the future of the program.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Jun 13, 2009 8:42 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
New coaches
The new coaches created a new and worse atmosphere. Savage seemed to defer everything but the pitching to them and the results were not good, worse than last year. There was a lot of coaching by insult and intimidation, the lineup changed constantly, and the team was tense and tentative. There was no love lost between most of the players and the coaches. That’s why everyone who was drafted will sign.
by scopes22 on Jun 13, 2009 9:39 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I've heard similar grumblings
It’s possible that those players weren’t equipped to handle such an atmosphere of constant pressure. Maybe the coaches did go too far. At this point, I’m not ready to make a final judgment. The coaches (specifically Hooky) have had immense success in the past and the grumblings I heard about the coaches were things I’ve heard make programs so good in other places. At the same time, the results this year were worse than last year. You could make an argument for the players being too “soft,” just like you can make an argument for the coaches going overboard. That’s why this year will be an interesting one to watch.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Jun 13, 2009 10:05 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I agree, it will be interesting...
…but good coaches create a winning atmosphere and find a way to get the most out of the players they’ve got. These guys did neither.
Fullerton has had immense success, but Hooky was an assistant for 25 years, not the head coach, and never had the kind of authority he had this year at UCLA. And the results this year were not good.
It will be interesting to see what kind of position players they are able to recruit now.
by scopes22 on Jun 13, 2009 10:33 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
The coaches didn't get the most out of the players
I definitely agree with that, but maybe they were creating a winning atmosphere and the players just weren’t able to handle the pressure of such an atmosphere. The coaches could have sacrificed some winning this year to change that atmosphere. Again, I’m not ready to assess which group or people are at fault here. It’s possible that the coaches are going along the right path and the players just aren’t cooperating. We saw the same thing when Ben Howland took over the basketball program in his first year. That’s why I say this next year is so interesting. It’s because I’m not ready to make a definite assessment on who’s at fault, but I’ll be a lot closer after 2010.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Jun 13, 2009 10:41 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
You're very charitable
The fact is the program regressed. They made changes and got bad results. Many players came to distrust the coaches, and many observers did not like what they saw. It’s hard to imagine how this is creating a winning atmosphere. But, let’s hope things improve. As you say, next year will be interesting.
by scopes22 on Jun 14, 2009 12:09 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
UCLA recruits itself. Hell, the coaching staff could sit in office and recruit by tele.
Can’t see a pitching coach as effective head coach when head is in charts….. It’s a video game…………and no feel for game.
by 62423 on Jun 13, 2009 9:58 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2009 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
